We are down to the final four at the 2020 Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament in Langley.
It will be the Walnut Grove Gators and the St. Patrick Celtics in one semi-final and Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs and Kelowna Owls in the other.
All four emerged victorious in their respective quarter-final matchups on Sunday, Feb. 23, at Langley Events Centre during day two action at the 2020 Junior Boys Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament.
There will also be a new champion, as the defending champion Burnaby South Rebels fell in their quarter-final clash.
Second-ranked Bulldogs battle the No. 3 Owls in the first semi-final on Monday (6:30 p.m.) while the No. 1 Celtics are up against Langley’s Walnut Grove Gators, the fourth seed (8 p.m.).
Both games are on South Court.
Our second semi-final tomorrow night is set as @sd35wgss will take on @stpatsceltics in the 8:00pm semi in South Court. pic.twitter.com/fZ68dS48HZ
— BC Junior Boys Basketball (@BCJrBoysBBall) February 24, 2020
Gators used a huge third quarter, outscoring the No. 12 Burnaby South Rebels 21-9 over an eight-minute stretch to clinch a spot in the finals.
Rebels got as close as four in the fourth quarter but the deficit was too much with the Gators winning 73-66.
Kevin Kao scored 21 points, including seven of eight free throws in the fourth quarter and Jacob Antchak had 16 for the Gators. Armaan Hehar led the Rebels with 18 while Zach Chan 14.
In other action, third-seed Kelowna Owls led the No. 6 Abbotsford Panthers by three points at the break but outscored the Panthers 27-19 in the third quarter to build a double-digit lead they would not relinquish in a 74-57 victory. The Owls had five players reach double figures led by Micah Borne’s 24 and Oaklen Kowal’s 19. Dilveer Randhawa scored 21 to lead the Panthers.
The day’s second quarter-final saw the No. 2 seed Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs fall behind 19-9 but they held the No. 7 Vancouver College Fighting Irish to eight points in the second, cutting the deficit to a basket at the half. With Churchill up by three points in the final period, the Bulldogs were automatic from the free-throw line, scoring their last 11 points from the line in an 81-72 victory. Aeron Vidad had 25 for Churchill while Jack Ferguson scored 27 for the Irish.
The St. Patrick Celtics fell behind 7-1 early to the No. 8 Lambrick Lions but steadied themselves to lead 17-14 after one quarter and led the rest of the way with a 61-49 final score. Jornel Ursua scored 16 points (including four three-pointers) and Joey Panghulan added 13 as the top-ranked St. Patrick Celtics held off the No. 8 Lambrick Park Lions. Aiden Grew led the Lions with 21 points, 15 of which came from behind the arc.
Draw-makers were nearly bang on when it came down to selecting the first eight seeds as seven of the top eight advanced to the quarter-final round and seeds one through four are through to the semi-finals.
For full box scores from day two, visit www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com.